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Welcome to the suggestion for the M-SHORAD, also known by the name Sgt. Stout! As the name suggests, this is a Short Range Air Defense system, intended to face against low flying aircraft like helicopters, but can also defeat ground targets if necessary. It is armed with a 30 mm XM914 cannon, a pod of FIM-92 Stinger missiles, and AGM-114L Hellfires, although the latter is unlikely to be used in the future due to safety concerns. In War Thunder, the M-SHORAD would be a higher tier American anti-aircraft vehicle, which could function as an anti-ground vehicle too if given Hellfires.
Overview
An M-SHORAD from 4th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment during an award ceremony at White Sands Missile Range, December 3rd, 2020
Through the 2000s, the U.S. Army divested from Short Range Air Defense (SHORAD) units to create space for units it believed more critical. The primary mobile anti-aircraft system was the Avenger Air Defense System, used by seven National Guard battalions. However, since this period, there have been an increasing number of aerial threats, notably missiles and UAVs that could pose a threat to American ground units. While the Avenger can still deal with most threats, it does not have the survivability or range to keep it up to par with vehicles like the Stryker.
In order to come up with a solution for this issue and integrate it with its Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs), the U.S. Army chose Moog Incorporated’s Reconfigurable Integrated-Weapons Platform (RIwP) to mount on the Stryker APC chassis. The RIwP turret is a remote turret capable of mounting a variety of armaments for various mission roles, including anti-armor, anti-air, and multi-mission. This turret can be upgraded with better armaments, and is overall a flexible design, which is the primary reason for its choice by the U.S. Army. The announcement of mounting the RIwP to the Stryker for assessment was announced officially in early 2018, and the U.S. Army planned on selecting specific armament later in the year.
Ultimately, the new Maneuver Short Range Air Defense, M-SHORAD for short was to use the 30 mm XM914 cannon, a derivative of the 30 mm M230, a pod of 4× FIM-92 Stingers, 2× AGM-114L Hellfire missiles, and a 7.62 mm M240 machine gun. Leonardo DRS was down-selected to provide the U.S. Army with the mission equipment package consisting of the RADA Electronic Industries RPS-42 Multi-Mission Hemispherical Radar, Moog’s RIwP, and Raytheon’s Stinger missiles. The RPS-42 can track targets out to 30 km, and able to detect even the smallest drones out to 3.5 km.
An M-SHORAD from 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment during a training exercise in Bemowo Piskie, Poland, February 24th, 2022.
As part of the M-SHORAD requirement, the U.S. Army planned for three ‘Increments’, or variants, of the M-SHORAD. Increment 1 was the variant with the 30 mm cannon, Stingers, and Hellfires, and Increment 2 is a Direct Energy variant utilizing a 50 kW laser. Increment 3 calls to replace the Stinger missiles with the Next Generation-Short Range Interceptor, the replacement for the Stinger, and aims to provide the 30 mm XM914 with Multi-Mode Proximity Airburst munitions. As of May 2024, there has been a call for an Increment 4, which aims to deliver “air defense capability to support dismounted maneuver”, however these programs are still in development.
In April of 2021, the 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment became the first unit to receive the M-SHORAD, receiving four, with the unit being fully equipped at the end of 2022. In addition to 144 M-SHORADs for operational use, the U.S. Army adopted a further 18 for training, testing, and operational spares. In the future, the U.S. Army envisions having around 312 in operational use, with the number going up to 361 based on future decisions. However, for now, there is only approval for 162 units. At the moment, there is a prohibition on the use of the AGM-114L Hellfire missiles on the M-SHORAD, due to the Hellfires mounted on the side of the vehicle creating wear and tear on the missile, leading to potential safety issues. In the future, the Army is reportedly intending to retrofit M-SHORADs with a second Stinger pod in place of the Hellfires, giving the vehicle eight total Stingers.
During the 249th Army Birthday Festival at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, Sergeant Major of the U.S. Army Michael R. Weimer revealed the name for the M-SHORAD, the Sgt Stout. This name comes from the only air defense artillery soldier to receive the Medal of Honor, Sgt. Mitchell W. Stout, who shielded fellow soldiers from a hand grenade while in a bunker on March 12th, 1970. Much like its namesake, the U.S. Army intends for the Sgt Stout to “protect soldiers well into the future”.
The Sgt. Stout at the 249th Army Birthday Festival at the National Museum of the U.S. Army, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, June 15th, 2024.
Specifications
- Crew: 3
- Mass: ~19 t
- Main armament: 1× 30 mm XM914, 4× FIM-92 Stinger & 2× AGM-114L Hellfire or 8× FIM-92 Stinger
- Secondary armament: 7.62 mm M240
- Radar: RPS-42 Multi-Mission Hemispherical Radar
- Radar range: 100 m - 30 km
- Engine: 450 hp Caterpillar C9
- Elevation: -20°/60°
Sources
- https://www.leonardodrs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/m-shorad-datasheet.pdf
- Sgt Stout - General Dynamics Land Systems
- M-SHORAD – Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance
- https://sgp.fas.org/crs/weapons/IF12397.pdf
- M-SHORAD system bolsters Army’s air defense capabilities | Article | The United States Army
- https://www.dote.osd.mil/Portals/97/pub/reports/FY2020/army/2020im-shorad.pdf?ver=gjza9jYKDIdZwDAa6YktzA%3D%3D
- https://web.archive.org/web/20210223231512/https://www.moog.com/content/dam/moog/literature/Space_Defense/Defense_Literature/RIwP_datasheet.pdf
- https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12397/2
